Coworkers
Summary: A variety of resources, tools, activities, and strategies are available to help when you find yourself unsure about what to say or do if a coworker seems to be struggling. These resources are designed to facilitate discussion and create high-functioning, inclusive, and psychologically safe teams. These free resources can help.
For individuals
Employees are uniquely positioned to notice signs of potential mental health challenges in their coworkers. For some, starting a conversation with a colleague who seems off can be nerve racking, but there are resources available to help you feel more prepared to check in and improve your comfort and effectiveness when having difficult conversations.
For leaders
Team cohesion and collaboration are important to establish if leaders want their employees to be able to effectively respond to workplace stressors. The challenge for leaders is to create a psychologically safe environment for their employees. Team building activities has workshop materials to help leaders build stronger teams by boosting team morale, communication, resilience and problem-solving skills.
Coworker articles and resources
The list that follows includes the resources linked to above as well as related information that may be more specific to your current situation:
Learn how to help co-workers who are struggling with mental health issues. The following steps can help you intervene while protecting your own well-being.
This process is used in collaboration with adult team members to develop their own agreement about how they will interact at work. It is intended to support a high-functioning, inclusive and psychologically safe team.
These team-building activities can help improve team effectiveness. Leaders and team members can learn how to resolve issues and support each other.
These questions and strategies can help you have a supportive conversation with someone you care about on difficult topics like mental health, stress, addiction, anger, abuse or lying.
Free activities to increase your ability to manage your reactions and control how you impact others. Building your emotional intelligence can help reduce stress.
This team-building activity helps team members develop skills to move beyond a disappointment.
This team-building activity helps build effective problem-solving skills to reduce the stress that worrying can cause.
These free workshop materials help show how behaviours might be interpreted as bullying, regardless of intent. Included is a slide presentation, facilitator guide and participant handout.
Quick and practical tips for responding to co-worker questions about your health.
Relaxing break activities improve physical and mental capacities and can reduce stress at work. Do these activities alone or with co-workers to improve health and feel better.